Thermal ablation of benign thyroid nodules is a minimally invasive therapeutic procedure performed with a special needle, which generates heat at the tip of an area of several centimeters and thus destroys the tumor tissue while creating a scar and reducing the overall size.
The needle is introduced through a small puncture in the skin of the neck, without the need for a large incision as in surgery, and is introduced precisely under ultrasound guidance to the nodes that cause the enlargement of the thyroid gland, which is then treated with heat, in order to achieve shrinkage of the tumor and reduction of the nodes.
When can percutaneous RF thyroid ablation be performed?
Due to their size, benign thyroid nodules can often cause a significant enlargement of the thyroid with an aesthetic effect and symptoms resulting from pressure on the surrounding organs (difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, pain, cough, feeling of a foreign body).
The advantage of ablation is a shorter recovery, a lower risk of surgery and the absence of an operative scar on the neck.
After confirming that they are benign nodules by cytological puncture, there is an option of minimally invasive treatment of the described condition with radiofrequency ablation instead of surgical thyroid resection.
What does RF thyroid ablation involve?
Percutaneous thermal ablation is a minimally invasive method, which means that it is performed by guiding a needle with a diameter of about 1.5 mm precisely to the tumor under ultrasound control. After that, short-term thermal damage to the thyroid nodule is done with an ablation needle in several places, which causes it to decrease by 30-70% after a few weeks.
The procedure is performed under local anesthesia and sedation with the patient lying down.
How to prepare?
When making an appointment for ablation, the patient receives information from the specialist interventional radiologist about the procedure, possible advantages and risks, as well as written instructions on preparation (instructions on laboratory findings that need to be done, on antibiotic protection - prophylaxis and on the procedure if anticoagulant therapy is taken).
The procedure is usually performed under local anesthesia and lasts about 60 minutes.
After the procedure, the patient remains in the ward for several hours for observation in order to rule out complications.